摘要：Increasingly, product labeling is increasingly being used to provide information about product characteristics such as biotechnology content that cannot otherwise be observed. This study examines the effects of voluntary labeling about the biotechnology used in the production of fluid milk in major U.S. markets. The U.S. fluid milk market provides an appealing case study for examining the effects of bio- technology labeling for several reasons. First, the bovine growth hormone rBGH has been used in U.S. milk production since 1994, providing one of the earliest examples of the use of biotechnology in agricultural production. Second, fluid milk is a relatively standardized and ubiquitous processed commodity. Third, and perhaps most importantly, fluid milk consumption patterns involve cross sectional differences across markets within the U.S. with respect to both rBGH-free labeled and unlabeled products, and conventional fluid milk products that include milk from dairy cows receiving rBGH supplements.
